After looking at the recruitment of Anthony Stevens in 1988, the selections of David King and Adam Simpson in 1993, and the bargain pick of the 1995 National Draft, Brent Harvey, we head to 1996.
Most North Melbourne supporters would remember it as the year of the club’s third premiership, but it was always an interesting time post-season.
Ross Smith and Ian Fairley retired, while six others were delisted. Trent Nichols went to Richmond (for pick 50), John Barnett ended up at Collingwood (for pick 70) and Paul Geister headed to Port Adelaide for a pair of Kingsley’s – Wade and Kent.
The Kangaroos’ first pick wasn’t until 23, but as always there were some interesting selections before that.
West Coast landed Michael Gardiner with the first pick of the National Draft, while the Bombers took Chris Heffernan.
With the third pick, Brisbane took Rory Hilton. He played just nine games in two seasons before being traded to Richmond (83 games).
Next was the Swans, and with the fourth pick overall Mark Kinnear arrived in Sydney. Two seasons and six games later, he was traded to Collingwood. He never played again.
The tale didn’t get too much better with pick five, Daniel McAlister.
Rated by some as a ‘draft bust’, he was a surprise selection so early in the draft after only a couple of years playing the game. He played two games in season one, then just one over the next four years.
Nevertheless, Essendon re-drafted the New Zealander with pick 64 in the 2001 National Draft. He played two further games before being delisted again.
There were few standouts in the top 20, with just five playing over 100 games. The real value was still to come.
Perhaps not for North though; at pick 23 it took Evan Hewitt.
At 193 centimetres, Hewitt had all the attributes of a likely key-forward who could play in the ruck. Versatile for his size, he played 19 games in 1998 after one in his first season.
Ultimately it was the likes of Corey McKernan and Wayne Carey that kept him out though, and after just 13 games in 1999 and 2000 combined, he departed Arden Street.
Ironically, North was given pick 23 from Adelaide for his services, the same pick used in the National Draft four seasons earlier.
Where did that number 23 selection end up? The Kangaroos took a young key-position player by the name of Drew Petrie.
Tim Notting (pick 26 to Brisbane), Jess Sinclair (pick 31 to Fremantle) and Jonathan Hay (pick 36 to Hawthorn) were among those to go next, with North waiting until pick 42 for its second acquisition.
As Fitzroy’s last ever best and fairest winner in 1996, it came as a surprise when Martin Pike was overlooked for a move to Brisbane. His off-field reputation is considered one of the likely reasons for the decision.
Nevertheless, the Roos pounced, landing a mature-aged player that could step straight into the team.
Pike went on to play 81 games over four seasons and was a vital member in the club’s premiership success of 1999.
Despite 20 games in 2000, Pike was delisted. He went on to play in a further three premierships in 2001, 2002 and 2003.
Next was on-baller Luke McCormick. Despite captaining NSW/ACT at under 18 level, he could only manage 35 games at reserves’ level during two seasons at North.
At pick 56, North selected another NSW/ACT representative - Cameron Mooney.
While he’s now better remembered for his time at Geelong, many forget Mooney played 11 games at Arden Street.
He also holds the illustrious honour of winning premierships at two different clubs, despite finishing statless in the 1999 Grand Final.
"It's not something I was really proud of," he said years later.
"I was only 19 and very young and naive and a bit silly, and didn't know what quite to expect or what it was all about. I felt like I didn't deserve it.”
It was another mixed bag for the Kangaroos at the 1996 Draft, but there was no doubting their fifth selection proved a beauty.
North was lucky to land Byron Pickett at pick 67. Having played his junior football in Port Lincoln, he’d been targeted by the AFL’s newest team Port Adelaide. He’d previously played under 19’s in the SANFL.
Pickett cited homesickness, but eventually headed to Victoria.
At just 178 centimetres, he was considered somewhat short for an AFL player; that did little to stop him becoming one of the most feared, most aggressive players in the game.
His approach was somewhat controversial, particularly in incidents with Brendan Krummel and Darren Milburn, but Pickett was a quality player too.
25 games in 1998 saw him crowned the AFL’s Rising Star. A year later, he was a premiership player as a 22-year-old. During his time at Arden Street, he barely missed a game.
At the end of 2002, Pickett was traded to Port Adelaide in exchange for picks 13 and 31.
North traded to the first pick to Fremantle in exchange for Leigh Brown, while pick 31 was used on Joel Perry. The former played 118 games in the royal blue and white, the latter just eight.
Pickett would go on to win a Norm Smith Medal at the Power in 2004, before moving to Melbourne in the twilight of his career.
Adam Hay was the final addition for 1996 (pick 70), and with two games the best output from any of the Kangaroos’ past last selections, history was against him.
Despite four years on the list, the 198 centimetre West-Australian didn’t play a senior game.
Pick | Player | Recruited from | Games for North |
23 | Evan Hewitt | Subiaco, WA | 33 |
42 | Martin Pike | Fitzroy, VIC | 81 |
50 | Luke McCormick | NSW-ACT U18 | 0 |
56 | Cameron Mooney | NSW-ACT U18 | 11 |
67 | Byron Pickett | Port Adelaide, SA | 120 |
70 | Adam Hay | Perth, WA | 0 |
